As advancements in 3D printing and home manufacturing continue, the debate over so-called “ghost guns” — unserialized, privately made firearms — remains a focal point in national discussions about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.
While critics highlight potential risks connected to privately made firearms (PMFs), proponents argue that these weapons represent the longstanding American tradition of self-reliance, innovation, and the right to bear arms.
The Dallas Express previously reported on the rising prominence of ghost guns and their appearance in high-profile criminal investigations.
That December 2024 report examined how lower-cost 3D printers and online parts sourcing have changed home firearm manufacturing. Since then, several major legal developments have reshaped the legal landscape, including a closely watched Supreme Court decision and a wave of state-level legislative proposals.
At the center of the ghost gun debate is Cody Wilson, a Texas-based entrepreneur and founder of Defense Distributed.
Wilson gained global attention in 2013 when he released digital files for the “Liberator,” widely regarded as the first fully 3D-printed handgun.
Through Defense Distributed, founded in 2012, Wilson has argued that the distribution of firearm design files constitutes protected speech under the First Amendment, alongside Second Amendment rights.
The company has faced extensive legal scrutiny, including a multi-year dispute with the Department of State, which initially classified its digital firearm files as export-controlled data.
In 2018, after a settlement with the federal government allowed the online posting of certain firearm design files, multiple states sought injunctions to block their release.
Wilson stepped away from Defense Distributed in 2018 after being charged with sexual assault of a minor, according to a warrant from the Austin Police Department. After accepting a plea deal in the sexual assault case, he took a brief hiatus from being in the public eye and being associated with Defense Distributed – before returning to lead the organization once again a few years later.
Recent media appearances, including an interview with independent journalist Tommy G, indicate that Defense Distributed remains active.
In mid-2025, Defense Distributed-affiliated branding began promoting the “G80” platform, which the company describes as designed to comply with post-VanDerStok federal standards. Those claims have not been tested in court.
This development followed renewed calls from gun control advocacy groups for stricter oversight of 3D-printed firearms, including a July 2025 report by Everytown for Gun Safety.
“We can’t afford to live in a world where children, criminals, and gun traffickers can 3D print fully functional guns at home,” said Nick Suplina, SVP of Law & Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.
On the legal front, a significant milestone occurred in March 2025, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bondi v. VanDerStok. The ruling upheld the ATF’s authority to treat certain gun kits and partially completed frames — often called “80% lowers” — as firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968, triggering serialization, background checks, and licensing requirements for commercial sales.
The 6–3 decision did not ban homemade firearms or criminalize personal gunmaking, but rejected a facial challenge to the ATF’s rule and allowed its application to certain products.
Gun rights organizations, including the National Rifle Association and the Firearms Policy Coalition, criticized the ruling as an overreach that only placed a burden on law-abiding citizens.
“There has never been a time in U.S. history where the federal government banned the making of a firearm for one’s own use, nor required the maker of such a firearm to engrave it with a serial number and report that information to the government. Fortunately (apart from machine guns or other firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act), that is still largely the case,” wrote John Commerford, executive director of the NRA-ILA, in an essay published in May 2025.
Federal law does not outright ban privately made firearms; individuals may still manufacture firearms for personal use, subject to National Firearms Act restrictions and applicable state laws.
At the state level, regulations vary widely. In 2025, more than a dozen states pushed new firearms-related measures, including restrictions on ghost guns.
For example, North Carolina introduced House Bill 545 (HB 545) in March 2025, defining ghost guns as firearms lacking serial numbers and proposing penalties for their possession or manufacture without proper markings.
California, known for its stringent gun laws, announced new provisions effective January 1, 2026, via an informational bulletin from Attorney General Rob Bonta. These include enhanced serialization requirements for privately made firearms and prohibitions on certain 3D-printing files.
In Texas, state law currently does not impose specific serialization mandates on homemade firearms for personal use.
Federal data shows law enforcement recovered more than 25,000 suspected privately made firearms in 2022.
Between 2017 and 2023, law enforcement agencies recovered and traced approximately 92,702 suspected privately made firearms (PMFs) out of more than 2.88 million firearms submitted for tracing in crime-related cases. This represents roughly 3.2% of all traced guns over that seven-year span, though that percentage rose to about 5.4% in 2023 alone, per ATF data. In firearm-involved homicides specifically, PMFs accounted for only 1.5% of cases during the same period.
Experts are now claiming that ghost gun technology and its quick evolution outpace current legislation. David Pucino of the Giffords Law Center has warned that without further action, 3D-printed guns could become more prevalent.
“The public deserves to know this, policymakers deserve to know this, activists deserve to know this, and people in communities that are harmed by gun violence deserve to know this information,” Pucino told NPR.
Conversely, gun rights advocates like Taylor Rhodes claim that “regulating tools like 3D printers is a slippery slope toward infringing on lawful ownership.”
“Attempts to regulate or ban homemade firearms are just the tip of the iceberg in a larger agenda to dismantle our rights,” Rhodes told USA Today in 2024. “Proposals like prohibiting online sales of gun parts and forcing serialization on every component are thinly veiled attacks designed to discourage lawful gun ownership and erode our freedoms.”
As 2026 unfolds, the debate over ghost guns continues to evolve, shaped by advancing technology and ongoing litigation. For many Texans, it remains a symbol of individual liberty and a reinforcement of the Second Amendment.
In the meantime, Defense Distributed’s website proudly displays a welcome banner reading, “Since Jan. 1 2022, no warrants have been served to defdist.org principals or employees. No searches or seizures have been performed on defdist.org assets.”
